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>> It could be the answer to the traffic jam headaches of your commute. Boeing's flying car prototype, which the world's largest plane maker said on Wednesday, had achieved a successful inaugural test flight. Boeing's so-called low-stress mobility is competing with arch-rival Airbus, and numerous other firms, to introduce small self-flying vehicles capable of vertical takeoff and landing.

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It's a technological field that could revolutionize urban transport and parcel delivery services.

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Boeing said on Tuesday, it had achieved a small, but significant step, when its 30-foot or 9-meter vehicle briefly hovered a few feet off the ground before making a soft landing. The company is also planning tests later this year for a package hauling version that can lift 500 pounds.

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And it's working with the US Federal Aviation Administration to develop a traffic management system for three dimensional highways, allowing waves of autonomous vehicles to glide safely around buildings. But what Boeing also has to navigate is numerous safety and regulatory issues, as well as rival concepts. They include air buses, pop-up self flying capsule, volicopter drone taxis and aeromobile stretch limousine that turns into a fixed wing aircraft.